Clinical Markers May Identify Patients at Risk for Early Parkinson’s Disease Dementia: A Prospective Study

• Published in: American journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias Vol. 36; p. 15333175211021369
• Main Authors: Jurcau, Anamaria, Nunkoo, Vharoon Sharma
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 2021
• Subjects: Biomarkers; Dementia - epidemiology; Humans; Neuropsychological Tests; Original; Parkinson Disease; Prospective Studies; Parkinson disease; sleep disturbances; dementia; autonomic dysfunction
• ISSN: 1533-3175; 1938-2731
• DOI: 10.1177/15333175211021369

Background: The study aims at identifying features predictive of early onset of dementia in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Methods: 103 non-demented PD patients were evaluated on various scales at baseline and 89 patients at 3-year follow-up. Results: By the end of the study 43.8% of patients developed dementia. The development of dementia was linked to the baseline Mini Mental State Examination score (Pearson coefficient r = .404, p = 0.013), the presence of autonomic dysfunctions (r = −.621, p < 0.001) and insomnia (r = −.526, p = 0.001). A binary logistic regression analysis showed that the development of dementia was correlated strongly with the presence of autonomic dysfunctions (95% CI 2.60 to 52.83, p < 0.001), and insomnia (95% CI 0.60 to 0.95, p = 0.017). Conclusion: Patients with signs of autonomic dysfunction and insomnia are at higher risk for developing dementia and deserve closer monitoring of cognitive symptoms.